Able to leap tall planets in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s the Space Shuttle Discovery! It is the biggest arrival in the Washington metro area since the Beatles performed here on February 11, 1964, Pope John Paul II in October, 1979, Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, and Queen Elizabeth’s many trips here.

The Shuttle is coming! During its fly-in from the Historic Kennedy Space Flight Center to the Metro Area, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is encouraging people to “look skyward to witness the sight.” The chance to see the historic orbiter from NASA is an once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Space Shuttle Discovery is expected to fly over the Washington, D.C. area between 10:00 and 11:00 am. Then it will land at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Thousands of area students, local residents and tourists will flock to spots across the region to view the Space Shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a modified Boeing 747, as it lands in Washington. Here are a few of the very best spots to get a rarified glimpse of the Shuttle as it circles Washington:

The National Mall.

The Washington Monument.

The Lincoln Memorial.

Hains Point at East Potomac Park.

14th Street Bridge.

Southwest Waterfront Park.

Long Bridge Park, 475 Long Bridge Drive, Arlington, Virginia.

Old Town Alexandria waterfront.

Gravelly Point Park.

National Harbor.

For motorists, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum recommends these Safe Driving Tips for spotting the Space Shuttle, as provided by AAA Mid-Atlantic: